Bless This Mess

In Japan they have a tradition called hanami in which people gather and have picnics under blooming cherry trees to enjoy the fleeting beauty of the flowers in bloom. For years I’ve been celebrating my own version, which consists of scoping out blossoms and capturing their transient beauty with my camera. I’ve photographed cherry blossoms, but where I live we also have many other kinds of stone fruit, such as peaches, plums, and nectarines, and we have almond trees in great quantity. This year I wasn’t up to seeking out blossoms as I’d hoped to (I happen to know of a beautiful spot in Modesto), but I was able to shoot the flowers from the mini-orchard in my aunt and uncle’s yard.

I’m still going through camera photos and recovering from our weekend travelling to The Snow. It was definitely a life list experience for us and the kids and as sick as I am now, I am so glad we were able to cross this one off. In Part 2 I’ll share the rest of the photos as well as our story, plus the kids of toys one brings to the snow when when is not accustomed to playing in it. The kids loved being in the snow, but not so much walking around in it. That part was for suckers who had to pull the rented inner-tubes.